A peep into Kanakadasa’s “Ditta dasa naanalla…”
The child inside the womb of Khayadu was that of a great soul and Deva
Rishi Narada was very much aware of that. Khayadu could forbear the physical
and mental strain by listening the divine stories being narrated by Narada
Maharishi. The focal point of all the stories drawn from holy texts, Shrutis
and Smrutis was to instil devotion into the mind of the child. Hiranyakashipu
had five sons namely Prahlada, Samhlada, Anuhlada, Shibi and Bashkala, besides
a daughter by name Harini, who is also known as Rohini. As a result of the
preaching of Narada Muni to pregnant Khayadu, who was a daughter of a demon
named Jambha, which was imbibed by the child inside her womb, the newborn son,
who was named Prahlada, was a committed and dedicated devotee of Lord Vishnu. In
Sanskrit, Prahlada means pleasure, joy and excitement. By the time
Hiranyakashipu returned from his expedition, Prahlada was a young boy. To the
utter dismay and bewilderment of Hiranyakashipu, the young boy Prahlada was
always chanting the name of Lord Hari. Although Hiranyakashipu asserted in
front of the boy that he (Hiranyakashipu) alone was the Lord of the Universe,
Prahlada never agreed. Initially, Hiranyakashipu tried to convince the boy that
there was no other God except himself. But, Prahlada did not subscribe his
father’s contention. Slowly, Hiranyakashipu started torturing the boy in
several ways. Prahlada was immersed in water, trampled by tuskers, pierced with
sharp weapons, thrown from great height and so on. Prahlada continued to recite
the name of Lord Vishnu, Lord Narayana and even dared to tell his father that
no other being, except Lord Vishnu, can be considered as God as Lord Vishnu is
the supreme Lord of the entire universe; Lord Vishnu is the Creator, the
Preserver and the Destroyer. Every time the boy professed on the greatness of
Lord Vishnu, the rage of Hiranyakashipu increased. Hiranyakashipu’s daughter
Harini had been married to Fire God, Lord Agni. Hiranyakashipu told in no
uneven terms that Lord Vishnu was his bet-e-noire and that he hated Lord Vishnu
from the bottom of his heart. Nothing could alter the mind of Prahlada.
Hiranyakashipu asked his daughter to enter dazzling flames of fire along with
Prahlada. The intention was that since Harini was the wife of Lord Agni, she
would not be burnt and Prahlada, as an ordinary human, would be burnt. But, the
meditation of Lord Vishnu, the sincere devotion of the child was so powerful
that Agni could not crack a hair of Prahlada. On the contrary, because of
insane, unjust purpose with which Harini entered the flames of fire, she was
burnt and the boy came out with all smiles. Hiranyakashipu lost his temper to such
an extent that he wanted to kill his son by hook or crook. He pressed into
service the magical powers of Shambara, drowned the boy in the ocean, pushed
him from the tallest mountain tower, forcibly got most venomous serpents to
bite the boy, fed him with food mixed with most effective poison and nothing
worked. Finally, he drew his sword out with the intention of beheading the boy,
when he heard a deafening, thunderous sound within the Royal Hall of his
palace. He saw a huge stone pillar cracking and bursting, suddenly. From amidst
the debris of that broken pillar came out a very horrible form comprising the
head of a Lion, paws with sharp nails and a human form below the neck. That was
the incarnation of Lord Narasihma. It may be remembered at this juncture that
when Lord Brahma appeared in front of him to bestow a boon, Hiranyakashipu had
used all his intelligence in seeking the most complicated boon. He said that he
should be killed by human beings, animals, snakes, serpents, demons, deities;
not in day time nor during night; not by any sort of weapons; not within a
building nor outside; neither on earth nor in the sky; in a nutshell nothing
created by the Almighty. The time when Lord Narasihma broke through the pillar
was dusk – neither day nor night; the physical appearance could not be defined
as human or animal; he was not a creation but the Creator himself; he was not
carrying any weapons. Startled by this unimaginable stature of Lord Narasihma, Hiranyakashipu
tried to confront the Lord. The fight went on till dusk. The Lord sat on the threshold
of the Royal Hall. Taking the demon king on the thighs, Lord Narasihma asked
the demon whether all the aspects of his “special” boon were covered. The
threshold was neither inside the house nor outside; as it was dusk, the time
could neither be called as day nor night; it was not on earth nor in the sky;
Lord Narasihma was neither a man, nor a demon nor an animal. Lord Narasihma
simply used his sharp nails to tear the chest of demon king Hiranyakashipu. No
weapon was pressed into service. Thus came the end of Hiranyakashipu; it was
the boldness of young boy Prahlada, his devotion and courage to reject the perception
of Hiranyakashipu that was instrumental for the incarnation of Lord Narasihma
(Ditta Dasa naanalla, which means I am that bold servant of the Lord).
Prahlada, even as a young boy, exhibited unbiased devotion to Lord Vishnu.
Therefore, Kanakadasaru says “Ditta dAsa nAnalla” ( I am not that bold servant.
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